OBS Chapter 38 Master Yan
Chapter 38 Master Yan
As the convoy left the city gate.
Liu Sheng was a little nervous.
Although his senior brother had said that wearing the Bajiquan uniform would generally prevent him from being questioned, it was unlikely that he wouldn't be nervous at all, given that he still had a knife in his pocket.
However, the county soldiers guarding the gate, seeing that it was the Yan family's convoy, skipped the paperwork check and immediately let them pass.
"In a county like this, it all depends on the power of the local magnates," Liu Sheng thought to himself.
Master Yan and his son rode at the very front.
One camel cart after another followed, and there were four or five carts between the cart carrying Liu Sheng and his two companions and that of Master Yan and his son.
There were about twenty martial arts instructors and more than thirty assistants accompanying the convoy, all scattered along both sides of the vehicle, occasionally glancing left and right.
There were also a few other martial arts practitioners on the other vehicles. It seemed that, including them, there were no more than 10 martial arts practitioners in total.
The wind whipped up fine sand, which blew against my face.
Also arriving were Master Yan and his son, engaging in a fragmented conversation.
Liu Sheng overheard that it was probably Third Master Yan who sent Yan Zhan on horseback to greet and introduce them to the martial arts masters who had entered the ranks.
But Yan Zhan complained that spending 10 taels of silver to recruit one ninth-rank martial artist was not as good as using the same amount of silver to recruit 10 ordinary martial arts masters who had mastered external martial arts.
In his view, even a single martial artist who has reached the rank of entry-level could not possibly defeat ten ordinary martial artists. Having more ordinary martial artists would save on the number of porters needed to move goods.
Wang Zheng is a bit straightforward.
My eyes widened as soon as I heard that.
He wanted to speak up, but then he remembered that the speaker was, after all, a young master of the Yan family.
I don't think I can say anything.
"Oh, you're being looked down upon, huh!" Liu Sheng chuckled upon hearing this, advising Wang Zheng not to worry about it, as long as he gets paid in the end.
Li Ying quickly added, "That makes sense."
But then they heard something else.
Yan Zhan was immediately scolded by Third Master Yan, who said that he should have been taken out to see the world a long time ago, and that he had been spoiled at home and made stupid.
They also said that some martial arts practitioners would foolishly charge straight at a group of 10 prepared martial arts masters; and that some martial arts masters were so stubborn that they would willingly risk their lives against martial arts practitioners for such a small amount of money.
At first, Yan Zhan would retort, "Didn't they take the money? How can they not put in the effort?"
"They're also afraid of getting money but not having the life to spend it," Master Yan shook his head and patiently explained.
Yan Zhan was speechless.
"Third Master Yan is a reasonable man." Liu Sheng was in a great mood.
A leader who is reasonable can avoid a lot of trouble on the road. Conversely, a leader who is not reasonable will inexplicably create a lot of trouble.
After leaving the city gate.
The caravan traveled about a mile along the main road.
Liu Sheng became alert because he saw several black-clad martial artists guarding a small hill made of felt ahead.
But he quickly recognized that the black clothes were the Yan family's attire, and while he was puzzled, the caravan stopped there.
Upon seeing the caravan arrive, several Yan family martial arts masters reached out and lifted the felt blanket—revealing hundreds of gleaming weapons.
The main weapons were long spears, each taller than a person, but there were also some swords and small shields.
It looked ordinary, but considering that this was under the rule of the demon race, and that even one weapon was enough to get a human's head, Liu Sheng's understanding of the Yan family's strength reached a new level.
"Everyone, come and get a weapon for self-defense!" Master Yan shouted, jumping off his horse and choosing a sword.
Liu Sheng observed.
Most martial artists who have reached the highest level choose swords because they are convenient to carry and use, and their appearance is more in line with the identity of a martial artist. Moreover, they have their own protective skin, so they can directly engage in close combat with a sword.
External martial arts practitioners mainly choose swords, paired with small shields. After all, they don't have the protective barrier of a high-ranking martial artist, so they still need shields for self-defense.
Meanwhile, the loading and unloading workers all rushed to grab their long spears.
For someone who has never practiced martial arts, a longer length always provides a greater sense of security.
Liu Sheng considered that he had never practiced with swords and was not used to short weapons. Although this spear was not as long as a lance, it was still longer than a sword and a saber, and he had practiced with them.
Having personally experienced the battle at Yejia'ao, he knew that he was just a weak and frail ninth-rank martial artist. It was always better to keep a distance, so he chose a familiar spear without hesitation.
I saw a martial artist who had reached the entry-level rank.
Surprisingly, he chose a long spear, just like his buddies.
A burst of snickers immediately erupted around him, as if everyone was talking about him.
Yan Zhan, who was retrieving his sword, made no attempt to hide his contempt for Liu Sheng upon seeing this.
He sneered:
"Completely lacking in martial arts dignity."
Yan Zhan had been scolded by his father before, and he was unhappy about it.
Seeing Liu Sheng, a mere entry-level martial artist, fighting with the other workers for a spear, he felt even more strongly that with his father and himself, entry-level martial artists were enough; these other cowards were just wasting their money.
"They're both from Bajiquan, so why is there such a big difference?" Yan Zhan wondered.
He had heard that during the battle of Yejia'ao, a martial artist named Liu Sheng from the Bajiquan Academy fought his way out of hundreds of bandits, risking serious injury, to deliver the message to the righteous army and save a villager in the mountains.
Yan Zhan saw that the other party was wearing the robes of a true disciple of the Bajiguan Sect. He had originally intended to ask if Liu Sheng was familiar with him while he was retrieving the weapon.
Seeing the other person's attitude, I immediately lost interest in asking.
Liu Sheng noticed his disdain.
Liu Sheng, of course, had no idea that Yan Zhan was still thinking about things related to him, and he was too lazy to bother with this young master.
Be clear about your goals.
I'm just here to scam 10 taels of silver.
As long as Master Yan is reasonable, that's fine. In any case, Yan Zhan's words don't really count in the caravan.
He picked up his rifle and got back onto the truck.
Wang Zheng and Li Ying each chose a sword. At this moment, seeing Liu Sheng throw up his spear and witnessing the Third Master's earlier disdainful attitude, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.
They comforted Liu Sheng, saying that others didn't know that the Bajiquan's ultimate skill was the Six Harmonies Spear, and there was no need to lower oneself to the level of those who didn't know.
Liu Sheng simply smiled and chatted with them for a few minutes.
Then he lay down on the truck to rest and recuperate, while also trying to recall the essence of the Earth Element Visualization Diagram and improve his proficiency.
[Internal Training Method: Skin Polishing Realm - Earth (Mastery 2%)]
Before they knew it, the convoy had traveled halfway and was now passing a huge sand dune.
Liu Sheng noticed the car slowing down and sat up.
He saw a headless stone statue standing between the road and the towering sand dunes.
The stone statue was carved from a single piece of white boulder and is nearly ten feet tall. Although it has been exposed to wind and sand for a long time and the surface has grooves of varying depths, the remaining patterns of the bright armor are still clearly visible, indicating that it is a statue of a human general from a long time ago.
The statue's head was damaged, and the broken neck was covered in sand and dust, which occasionally echoed with a mournful sound when the wind blew by.
"It's Guo Wusheng!"
Wang Zheng pointed excitedly at the stone statue. Although he had seen it many times before, it didn't stop him from getting excited every time he saw it.
Who among those who practice martial arts doesn't want to cultivate themselves into a martial arts saint?
What human warrior doesn't want to have the strength to protect their race?
Before Liu Sheng, he would go to Old Man Kang's barbecue stall every day and listen to Old Man Kang tell stories about Guo Wusheng.
Of the four martial saints of the human race, Guo Xiao was the last. Until the white-haired martial saint finally donned his radiant armor, stood atop the city wall, facing east, and died peacefully in his old age.
Seven days later, the demon race dared to approach and seize the last human city. From then on, the Great Qian Dynasty ceased to exist and was completely transformed into the Great Fan.
Today I was able to see the stone statue of Guo Wusheng, but unfortunately it wasn't complete.
Master Yan dismounted first, straightened his clothes and composed himself, and bowed deeply to the stone statue; Yan Zhan followed closely behind, solemnly bowed, and then stood silently with his hands at his sides.
Liu Sheng observed Yan Zhan's bowing manner and knew that this young master was simply inexperienced, but not a bad person.
Upon seeing the actions of Master Yan and his son.
The other martial artists and masters, including Liu Sheng and his two companions, stepped forward and bowed in turn.
After the ceremony, everyone was about to continue their journey.
Suddenly, Master Yan looked up, his gaze sharp as lightning, and pointed towards the top of the sand dune. He called out loudly, "May I ask which hero is here? We are the Yan family's caravan from Crescent Moon County. Would you do us the honor of showing yourselves?"
Before the words were finished, a "whoosh" was heard as an arrow pierced the air, piercing everyone's eardrums!
At the top of the dune, more than twenty ferocious wolf heads slowly emerged, clad in tanned hard leather armor and wielding weapons of varying styles, yet their formation was unusually orderly, which was chilling.
The leader was a demon, with a burly figure far exceeding that of its kind, and its eerie green eyes flickered like will-o'-the-wisps in the wind and sand.
It held up a stiff bow, almost as tall as itself, and looked down at its prey with its mouth half-open, revealing sharp teeth.
"The demon race... it's a wolf demon!"
Clang!
A chorus of weapons being drawn rang out instantly.